President and Government seek expert advice on pardon for men wrongly convicted of notorious Mám Trasna murders in 1882

President Michael D. Higgins has revealed that the Government has appointed an expert to examine the case for granting posthumous pardons to the innocent men convicted of the Mám Trasna murders of 1882.

In an interview featured in Murdair Mhám Trasna, a new drama-documentary for TG4, President Higgins said he is looking forward to hearing that expert’s opinion and the Government’s advice on one of the most famous miscarriages of justice in British and Irish legal history.

“At that stage, I will be returning to this issue to see what I can do. If it were up to me, the formalities aside, I would be happy to accept that the injustice which occurred should be recognised. My view is that the moral issue is clear,” the President said.

In 1882, five members of the Joyce family were brutally murdered in their home in Mám Trasna, a remote area on the Galway-Mayo border. Eight local men were convicted of the crime and sentenced to hang based on what later emerged to be perjured evidence given by informers and alleged eyewitnesses who received compensation amounting to £1,250, equivalent to €160,000 today.

Those convicted were tried in English although, being native Irish speakers, most of the those charged had little or no knowledge of that language. Three men were hanged while five others had their sentences commuted to penal servitude for life; two of those convicts died in jail while the remaining three were released after 20 years. Three local men, named frequently in parliament and in the media as having planned and directed the murders, were never charged.

A refusal to allow a public inquiry into the Mám Trasna case contributed to the fall of Gladstone’s government in 1885.

In his interview in Murdair Mhám Trasna President Higgins refers to the innocent men convicted of murder:

“Everything that happened at the level of the State was horrendous. There was bribery involved. The accused didn’t get a proper chance to defend themselves. There wasn’t an atmosphere of equality and there was no equality as regards legal processes at that time.”

The President also says that the British authorities at that time did not treat the Irish as equals. “They viewed them as a race apart who were not on equal footing with ordinary civilised people,” he said.

Producer of the film Murdair Mhám Trasna, Ciaran Ó Cofaigh of ROSG, described as a “significant step forward” the President’s revelation that an expert is to examine the case on behalf of the Government. “It would be wonderful if the injustice suffered by those innocent men 135 years ago were to be recognised now by the granting of posthumous pardons. It is certainly better late than never,” he said.

Among the other contributors to Murdair Mhám Trasna is Lord Alton of Liverpool, whose mother was a native Irish speaker from the Mám Trasna area. Lord Alton and his late colleague Lord Avebury campaigned to have the miscarriage of justice in this case recognised. In an interview with the filmakers Lord Alton refers to the fact that those charged with the murders had no understanding of the court proceeding in English.

“To have a fair trial you need to be able to understand the accusations that are being made against you. You need to be able to understand the evidence being given by your accusers. And you need to be able to understand the directions of the judge. And if you can’t understand any of these it makes it impossible to have a fair trial. And it was also, I think, demeaning of the Irish language,” he said.

Johnny Joyce, a descendant of the murdered Joyce family, says he forgave those who carried out the murders and expresses the hope that the miscarriage of justice will be addressed.

“I wish something could be done for Myles Joyce – his sentence should be commuted – the same with the other Joyces who served their sentences, 20 years hard labour.”

Tomás Ó hÉanacháin, a great grandnephew of one the men hanged for the murders says the case still stirs up “anger” in him. “Although the authorities knew Myles Joyce and his brothers were not involved in the murders they continued with the hangings and the injustice,” he said.

The feature-length drama-documentary Murdair Mhám Trasna from the Conamara-based production company ROSG was commissioned by TG4 with the support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland.

Murdair Mhám Trasna had its premiere today (3 November) at the Oireachtas festival in Killarney, Co Kerry, and will be broadcast on TG4 at a later date. Meanwhile, the drama-documentary will be featured at a number of film festivals at home and abroad.

The film is based on former journalist and Irish language commissioner Seán Ó Cuirreáin’s book Éagóir, published by Cois Life last year. The film was shot at locations in Mám Trasna and Swinford (Co Mayo), Conamara (Co Galway), Dublin and London.

Murdair Mhám Trasna is directed by Colm Bairéad, and produced by Ciarán Ó Cofaigh and Seán Ó Cuirreáin.